


Girl on Fire

by treya_barton



Series: Tainted Love [5]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/F, Gen, M/M, Vampire Hunters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26977702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treya_barton/pseuds/treya_barton
Summary: Yukiko comes up with a plan to save the shrine while wondering why Chie is being so secretive.
Relationships: Amagi Yukiko/Satonaka Chie, Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Series: Tainted Love [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895857
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	Girl on Fire

Chie would be returning to the field tomorrow. Today she was wrapping up her last day of training, and Yukiko knew that it was a bittersweet moment for her girlfriend. While Chie was excited about going back to the field, she had enjoyed training the new recruits and getting to see the growth of their careers and Yukiko knew that a part of her would miss it. However, what she wanted to do more than anything else was go back on the field, solving crimes and protecting her partner, and Yukiko was thrilled to see Chie finally recovering from her trauma. She had spent many nights with her girlfriend, calming her down after waking up from nightmares, while reassuring her that she wasn’t weak for not being fully recovered yet. Chie was the strongest person that Yukiko knew, and she reminded her that all the time.

However, while she was strong, the job was still incredibly dangerous. Yukiko would never forget the phone call she received from a panicked Yosuke as he was in the ambulance with Chie on the way to the hospital. Chie had almost not made it that night, and it was the scariest moment Yukiko had ever faced in her life. Yosuke had received some pretty serious injuries since that day as well; she was glad that he was finally getting better about coming to her to get his weapons blessed and for not the first time she felt glad that Narukami-kun had entered his life. She had always liked Narukami – he got along well with her parents and always supported the shrine and other local areas of historical interest by collaborating with them when coming up with exhibits for the museum. It was sweet getting to see Yosuke finally open his heart up to someone again, and other than the brief moment where Yu disappeared, understandable once they realized what he was, he had been supportive and a great influence on her second favorite detective. 

Yukiko smiled, her fingers stilling from their work on blessing Chie’s weapons. Usually she would only do the work at the shrine, preferring to keep her professional and home life separate. However, Chie was the obvious exception, and she was taking her time to ensure the protection blessings were strong and the talismans were on the finest quality. It was more comfortable at home, especially since she was working past hours. She reached for her phone, selecting Yosuke’s name and leaning back as she took a brief break from her work. She hoped she wasn’t interrupting anything important, but still wanted to have this important conversation.

Fortunately, Yosuke answered right away. “What’s up?” he asked. There was a bit of background noise and Yukiko checked the time. Maybe Yosuke was on his dinner break.

“I wanted to check in,” Yukiko replied. “Are you busy?”

“No, I met up with Kanji for dinner,” Yosuke said. “Hey, Kanji, wanna say hi to Yukiko?”

The phone was handed over to the younger detective. “Hey Yukiko-sempai,” he said, voice a bit disgruntled. Knowing Yosuke, Kanji had probably just been in the middle of taking a bite when he had handed the phone over.

“Hello Kanji-kun. Will you be paying me a visit soon? You’re about due for a blessing, aren’t you?” she asked. She tried to keep up with all of the hunters, but always made sure to pay extra attention to the ones closest to her heart.

“Yeah, I should be by later in the week,” Kanji said, sounding sheepish. “I’m handing the phone back.” He quickly handed it back to Yosuke who was chuckling.

“It’s always nice to see you chastise someone other than me,” he commented, and Yukiko shook her head.

“If you took care of yourself better, there would be no need for me to chastise you Yosuke,” she replied. “Speaking of which, that is what I was calling to talk to you about.”

Yosuke waited for her to speak, and she could picture his nervous expression at her ominous words. “Tomorrow…please take care of Chie,” Yukiko finally said, her hand gripping the phone tighter. “I want to avoid a repeat of what happened last time.”

Yosuke let out a breath. “Yukiko, I… I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” Yukiko had always had an inkling on how much what had happened had impacted Yosuke. Whenever Yukiko had needed rest during Chie’s recovery, he had been there by Chie’s side alongside Chie’s parents. He had been just as supportive of her decision to return, and Chie had told him Yosuke’s confessions about the nightmares that he had over the incident.

“Just to be clear, that means you need to stay safe too,” she lightly chastised, and Yosuke was silent on the other end. She could only imagine the expression on his face as he tried to come up with a response. “You know I’m well aware of the dangers of your profession,” she said, voice gentler. “I just want you to remember that you’re both human.”

Yosuke sighed. “I know. I won’t be as reckless anymore. I’ve learned my lesson, promise.”

“Good, I’ll hold you to it,” Yukiko said, voice sugary sweet. She could practically feel Yosuke’s nervousness on the other line and held back a giggle. “I hope you have a good rest of your evening. Tell Kanji I will be expecting him.”

“Yeah, yeah, get some sleep soon,” Yosuke said. “Don’t stay up all night worrying about Chie, you know it’ll just piss her off.”

Yukiko smiled as they hung up and returned to her blessing. Yosuke knew Chie rather well and it seemed he had started figuring her out too. So, after finishing up her work, she carefully packed Chie’s weapons, talismans, and other equipment away before heading to bed for the night, using meditation to still her whirling thoughts and putting her trust in her love and her partner to be safe the next night.

When she woke up the next morning, she smelled coffee brewing and smiled before getting out of bed. She found Chie sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee while munching on a pastry as she scrolled through her phone. There was a container with more pastries – she had stopped by their favorite bakery on the way home for breakfast. There was also a cup of tea waiting for her in an insulated cup to keep it warm, which caused Yukiko’s smile to widen even further. She greeted Chie with a kiss to the cheek before sitting down and taking a sip of tea. Chie grinned at her.

“Yosuke told him you threatened him last night,” she said, before taking another sip of her coffee. “Kanji too.”

“I merely encouraged them both to be cautious,” Yukiko demurely replied as she picked out a croissant to eat. Chie grinned at her over her coffee. “Should you be drinking that before bed?” Yukiko asked, and Chie shrugged.

“Got some plans this morning so I’ll be staying up a bit before going to bed. Need the caffeine boost,” she replied. Yukiko raised an eyebrow, but Chie didn’t clarify further. She suddenly wondered if Chie was trying to hide something, but then figured it could just be nerves before her first night back as a detective. Chie finished her pork bun and reached for one with hot dogs and cheese. Yukiko chuckled at her girlfriend’s choice in baked good – even with bread, Chie had to have her meat.

“Try not to stay up too long. You have a big night ahead of you,” Yukiko gently reminded her.

“Ah, you must be threatening me too now,” Chie teased before taking a bite of her bread. She sighed at the taste.

“It’s only a threat if you don’t heed my advice,” Yukiko reasoned, and Chie couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“This is why no one can win against you,” she chuckled. Once they finished their breakfast, they exchanged kisses again before Chie headed to take a shower and Yukiko changed into her miko clothing in order to head to the shrine. Their apartment was pretty close by so Yukiko always walked to work, enjoying the exercise. Unbeknownst to Chie, Yukiko actually also had a big day ahead of her. 

The shrine had slowly been declining in revenue recently; while New Years, their summer festival, and the dance ceremony gave them a boost in business that allowed them to continue to operate, it wouldn’t be too much longer before their family wouldn’t be able to keep up with the upkeep of the shrine and their various historical artifacts they had collected over the years. While they could always donate some to the museum to ensure they were taken care of, many were of significance to the family and Yukiko and her parents didn’t want to do that if they could avoid it. Providing blessings for weapons and talismans to hunters provided steady revenue, but they used to be able to supplement it with ones sold to those who visited the shrine or asked for prayers before big events or tests. They weren’t getting as many visitors as they used to and it was definitely concerning.

So, Yukiko had been researching what some other shrines had been doing in order to keep up with modern times and the decline in visitors, and she had put together a proposal to share with her parents and her grandmother. She was a little nervous for while her parent’s opinion mattered, it was really her grandmother who was the matriarch of the family that she would have to convince. Her grandmother was a traditionalist and some of her ideas which included dressing up in traditional attire to take cosplay photos would probably seem outlandish to her. It seemed to work at other locations, however, so Yukiko was determined to at least state her case. She hadn’t said much to Chie who was already stressed enough about her tests and subsequent return to being a detective, since she didn’t want to add more stress to her girlfriend.

Thus, once she arrived to work, she did her best to keep busy all day in order to keep herself calm instead of fretting over presenting her proposal. Then, right after the shrine was closed to visitors for the day, she met with her parents and grandmother in their tea room. She prepared the tea for them, having been trained in the art since she was a young girl, before kneeling down and taking a sip of tea, waiting for her grandmother to indicate she was ready for her to begin. Once her grandmother had taken a sip of tea, smiling at the perfectly prepared cup, no doubt remembering the less accomplished efforts of Yukiko’s youth, she began. “Your mother tells me you have some ideas for the shrine?”

Yukiko took a deep breath. “Yes, Sobo,” she replied. She then launched into her proposal, watching her family carefully as she expressed her ideas based on her research. She carefully pointed out their ties and success at other reputable shrines, knowing that it was the only way she would be able to get her grandmother’s buy in. Her parents seemed to be listening intently, and she could tell that they at least seemed interested, but her grandmother’s opinion in the end was the one that mattered and she had carefully smoothed her expression the moment Yukiko had started talking.

Once she was finally done, she finished while steeling her back as she looked at each family member in turn. “What do you think?” she asked. Her parents exchanged looks before turning to look at her grandmother. Her grandmother took a final sip of tea.

“You put a lot of thought and research into this,” she started. “I can tell that your heart is in the right place.”

Yukiko gripped her hands in her lap. “However, these ideas…they do not fit in with the tradition of our shrine,” she explained. “We would also need to take on more staff for them which would be a risk if they are not successful. I do not like gimmicks,” she said slowly. “I will only approve of projects that support the vision of our shrine and the traditions we have upheld for hundreds of years. Unfortunately I did not hear any tonight.” Yukiko grit her teeth and held back her tongue, knowing that there would be no arguing with the matriarch. She bowed her head in acknowledgement, waiting to hear the sound of the door sliding open as she stepped out of the room.

Her mother placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Your father and I did enjoy some of your ideas. You did a good job researching and putting together the presentation,” she said softly. Yukiko sat up, looking at both of her parents who were giving her apologetic looks.

“But it wasn’t enough,” Yukiko said with a sigh.

“Your grandmother is set in her ways, but she also did make some good points,” her father replied.

Yukiko nodded her head, suddenly at a loss as to what to do. Her mother squeezed her shoulder before she and her father stepped outside, sliding the door shut behind them. Yukiko wanted to slam her hands against the table or throw something, but she knew she couldn’t damage anything in the delicate tea room, especially not the ceremonial tea set. So, instead, she resigned herself as she placed it all back on the tray and prepared to take it to the kitchen so she could carefully clean it and put it back in its designated spot. 

On her way back to the kitchen, she ran into Yu who had arrived with a few of the family’s heirlooms that had been on loan. “Did I come at a bad time?” he asked, somehow able to discern her carefully masked irritation.

Yukiko let out a sigh as she stepped into the kitchen and set down the tray. “I just was in a business meeting with the family. It…did not go as I had hoped,” she admitted. Yu set down the items he had been carrying on the counter before leaning against it and fixing her with his patient gaze.

“Care to tell me about it?” he asked. Yukiko’s shoulder’s slumped, and while part of her didn’t want to share her failure, she also knew she would feel better getting it off her chest. So, as she cleaned up the tea set and started to put everything away, she explained the shrine’s situation and the research she had worked on all month, along with the disastrous results. Yu listened carefully, allowing her to speak without interruptions, and then puzzled over her dilemma. 

While he thought, Yukiko made both of them another pot of tea, only this time she used their normal tea set for day to day guests, before motioning for him to join her in the main room they used to host visitors such as the hunters when they came to get their weapons blessed. Yu picked up the family heirlooms before joining her, setting them beside himself on the tatami as he gracefully kneeled across from her and accepted his cup, dropping in his blood tablet before taking a sip. Yukiko had always noticed him using the tablet throughout the years, but had always assumed it was medication before learning of Yu’s true nature.

“Were you really sold on those ideas?” Yu finally asked. Yukiko blinked at him. “It sounds like you put a lot of effort into doing research to convince your grandmother of your validity. But you did not seem very enthusiastic about them yourself.”

Yukiko’s eyes widened in surprise. She took a moment to reflect on his words. “I…suppose I wasn’t,” she replied. “I just thought our only way to move forward was to modernize. More than anything else, I do not want to lose the shrine that has been a part of my family history for so long. Not just for us, but for the community. I could probably continue to support the hunters on the side but…” It wouldn’t be the same.

“I think if your heart had been in it, your grandmother’s decision may have been different,” Yu mused. “She probably only wants to accept an idea you truly believe will be good for the shrine.”

Yukiko suddenly realized he was right. If she couldn’t convince herself deep down, then how would she be able to convince her grandmother who had even more of her life put into the shrine? “What do I do?” she asked.

Yu took that moment to make a sudden change in the conversation. “The new exhibit has been doing very well and drawing a lot of visitors,” he explained. “They really enjoy learning about the demon protecting rituals and seeing your family scroll that is on display. We get a lot of questions from visitors about it.”

“Yes, I have noticed some visitors to the shrine have been asking the same,” Yukiko replied, wondering about the change in conversation. “They want to know if we still do any of them, but other than the dance ceremony…” she trailed off, suddenly realizing the reason for Yu’s change in topic.

“But we don’t know many of the old ceremonies,” she said. “We have a few scrolls but they don’t go into exact detail or they’re meant to be read as the prayer during.”

“I have some contacts that do know some of the old miko ceremonies,” Yu offered. “They may not be the exact same ones performed by your family, but I am sure if you bring some of those heirlooms they would be able to fill in some of the gaps and train you in the process.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Yukiko said quickly, and Yu shook his head.

“I would be interested in seeing them myself,” he replied. “History has always fascinated me and having the opportunity to see some of the old rituals performed would be a delight.”

Yukiko smiled at him. “Thank you. I think…I think my grandmother would love this idea,” she said, her eyes glittering in excitement. “I cannot wait to begin my research and training!”

By the time Yukiko got home, Chie had already gone to work so she had unfortunately missed getting to see her off before her big day. She sent her girlfriend a text in order to let her know that she was cheering her on from afar and would be looking forward to seeing how her day went in the morning before changing into some more comfortable clothes and eating the convenience store bento that Chie had left in the fridge for her. As she ate, her mind whirled with ideas for the new plan for the shrine. Yu had scheduled a few appointments where he would take her to visit some of the practitioners he knew, and from there she would train under them until she could take the knowledge back to the shrine to train the other miko. Then the plan would be to have weekly demonstrations to draw in more regular visitors along with some new charms and tokens to offer that may entice a younger generation. They had the usual ones for tests or marriage, but there were also opportunities for ones related to the job search or more casual relationships that she wanted to add.

Yukiko ended up going to sleep late, so excited was she over her upcoming plans, and she wound up sleeping through her alarm and was finally awoken by her rather amused girlfriend. “Rise and shine sleepyhead,” Chie said after poking her awake at the ticklish spot near her ribs.

Yukiko jolted awake, flinching away from her before sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She then turned to face Chie. “How did it go?” she asked, and Chie’s face broke out into a wide smile.

“It felt great to be back,” she admitted. “I was the tiniest bit rusty but I do think I’ll get the hang of it soon.” Her eyes shined proudly, and Yukiko felt her heart skip a beat. It had been awhile since she had seen her girlfriend look so confident – it was always a sexy look on Chie.

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said, before glancing at the clock and wincing. It was too late for her to be able to cook breakfast that morning. 

“It’s ok – I already ate. Yosuke took me out to breakfast to celebrate my first day back,” Chie rolled her eyes. “He certainly likes to spend his money…”

Yukiko held back a grin, knowing that while Chie had often demanded food from Yosuke early on in their partnership, she had soon realized that more often than not he would treat her which had begun to make her feel guilty about it. She now had a tendency to try to convince him not to treat their friends, which was more often than not a losing battle. Fortunately, now that he had Yu, they had noticed his boyfriend sometimes stepping in to pick up the bill instead which would be better on his finances.

“Going to be getting ready for bed then?” Yukiko asked with a stretch.

Chie ignored her question, and instead asked, “I’m surprised you slept through your alarm this morning. You never do that unless you’re really tired.”

Yukiko got up and headed to the kitchen to make herself tea and pick out some leftover baked goods from breakfast the day before. She decided maybe it was time to open up about her situation. She told Chie about what had been going on with the shrine, her proposal, and her conversation with Yu and the fact she would be pretty busy as she started to go through training. Chie’s eyes widened in surprise, and then an encouraging smile spread across her face. “That sounds awesome!” she said excitedly. “I’m sure you’re going to do great!” She then leaned forward before adding in a low voice, “You’ll probably look pretty sexy too…”

Yukiko flushed before poking her girlfriend who giggled at her flustered expression. “Hush,” she said. “Also, don’t think I didn’t notice you sidestep my question earlier.”

Chie puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. “I may or may not have something I’m doing this morning before bed,” she replied. “But honestly, I want to hear more about what’s been going on with you. I’m a little surprised you hadn’t told me that the shrine was struggling…”

Chie had effectively guilt tripped Yukiko into changing the topic, and as she ate her breakfast and got ready for work she told Chie about what she had been dealing with, after apologizing for not saying anything sooner. She knew Chie wouldn’t take her excuse about not wanting to burden her, so she didn’t even offer it, knowing that her girlfriend had probably figured that out. Once she had changed into her normal miko attire, Yukiko and Chie exchanged a kiss before Yukiko headed to work, wondering what it was Chie was being so secretive about. However, she soon got sucked into work and planning for the demonstrations and she became simply too busy to give Chie’s strange behavior much thought. 

Every day she would go into work, taking some time to research the rituals and reviewing her family scrolls along with notes she took from her training exercises with the practitioners Yu had introduced her to in order to finalize what she thought her family’s ceremonies must have been like. She worked with her grandmother who had been delighted at her new ideas and had some knowledge that had been passed onto her that helped with the development process. On her days off, she would train with the different practitioners, learning how to perform the rituals and memorizing the prayers from her family scrolls. She had to learn the proper pronunciation since the dialogue was formal and different from modern day Japanese, and just that alone took much of her time. Then she had to start teaching the miko back at the shrine, who also seemed excited to be learning something new and were also looking forward to being able to demonstrate the long forgotten rituals to the public.

Finally, after months of hard work, the day came for their first exhibition. Yukiko had decided to start with monthly exhibitions until they could tweak down some of the simpler rituals into something that could be scheduled weekly. She had invited all of their friends to the exhibition, and had carefully designed the area protected by the ritual to be small so as to not cause harm to their vampire guests. Yu had especially seemed interested in the ceremony, and she had been surprised to learn that his friend Rise the supermodel would be showing up as well.

She was a little nervous as the time drew closer to start, but Chie who was waiting with her while dressed in a green yukata decorated with white plum blossoms, was managing to keep her calm. Chie rarely dressed up, especially in something traditional, and Yukiko couldn’t help but feel her eyes train on her as she chatted about work. She looked stunning, and Chie had even placed a comb in her hair with plum blossoms dangling down the side. “What’s the reason for you to look so festive?” Yukiko asked, interrupting Chie’s story and proving she hadn’t really been listening. 

Chie rolled her eyes before smiling softly. “Is there any better reason than your big exhibition?” she teased, and Yukiko shook her head.

“You look gorgeous,” she said, smiling at the flush that spread across Chie’s cheeks.

“I could say the same to you,” Chie replied.

Yukiko laughed. “I’m just wearing my usual miko attire,” she pointed out.

“And every time you put it on, you look gorgeous,” Chie retorted. “Although, to be honest, you always look gorgeous anyway so…”

Yukiko snorted before pressing a kiss to Chie’s cheek. “Thank you,” she said.

It was about time for the ceremony, so Chie headed outside to where the crowd was waiting while Yukiko went to join the other miko. Their ritual consisted of setting up talismans to bless an area, protecting it from “demon” influence which Yukiko was well aware actually meant warding off vampires. One miko beat a drum while another lit a fire and incense while Yukiko danced around, performing the ritual while saying the incantation. She had decided to design a mini shrine to use for the exhibition, which allowed the area to remain small enough that Yu and Rise wouldn’t be affected by the performance. The whole event took about 30 minutes and went off without a hitch, and when they had finally completed it Yukiko addressed the crowd to explain the ritual and the efforts that had been taken to uncover the history to ensure they were properly recreating it. She then let them know that there were more details at the exhibit at the museum, and that they would have another exhibition next month that would be even more detailed.

When the crowd began to disperse, talking eagerly about both the museum and future exhibitions, Yukiko was approached by Chie who reached forward and took her hand, eyes gleaming with pride. “You did an amazing job,” she said breathlessly.

“I was so nervous,” Yukiko admitted with a small laugh. Chie squeezed her hand before starting to lead her away from the crowd, toward an area around the back of the shrine that was quieter. Yukiko was a bit confused since she was also leading her away from their friends which is where she had expected Chie to take her. Once they got to the backyard which was dark since it was after hours and not a place anyone frequented at night, Yukiko turned to give Chie a puzzling look. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Suddenly, lights popped on around them, and Yukiko let out a gasp at the dazzling display. There was a large sakura tree in the back part of the shrine that looked gorgeous when it bloomed. At this time of year it was pretty barren, but someone had strung lights shaped like cherry blossoms in the tree, giving it a soft glow that lit up the area that they were standing in. The tree held some significance to them, for it was during a hanami at that very tree that Yukiko had first asked Chie to be her girlfriend.

“Yukiko,” Chie said, her voice soft, indicating she was nervous. Yukiko tore her gaze away from the tree, returning it to her girlfriend who was staring back at her with an adoring expression.

“Yes?” Yukiko asked, heart beating in anticipation.

“One thing that I’ve realized during my journey to recovery…is just how important you are to me. When you encouraged me to return to the field, I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.” Chie reached forward to take Yukiko’s hand, her own hands trembling slightly with her nervousness. “Will you be willing to spend the rest of your life with me?” She stared up at Yukiko, whose eyes had widened. She was stunned into silence. “I…ah…I’m sorry I don’t have a ring. I wanted us to select one together to make sure we picked out something that you liked. Every time I went into the store none of them just felt right…”

As Chie started to ramble, Yukiko couldn’t help but snort before bursting into laughter. Chie gave her a sheepish grin as Yukiko laced their fingers together before leaning in for a kiss. It was gentle, yet eager, and communicated her answer just as well as anything verbal would. However, she made sure to also reward Chie’s efforts with a formal response as well. “I will gladly spend the rest of my life with you, Chie,” she said, eyes shining with happy tears as Chie pulled her in for a hug.

“God, I was so nervous,” Chie sighed, causing Yukiko to giggle again.

“Is this what you’ve been so secretive about?” she asked curiously.

“Yes. I’ve been dragging Yosuke with me after work trying to plan this,” Chie said sheepishly. “I think we were both about ready to bite each other’s heads off to be honest.” Neither of them fared well with a lack of sleep, especially for an extended period of time.

Yukiko had to hold back another laugh, knowing it would just make her girlfriend grumpy. “Looks like we’ll need to invite him out to dinner this time, hmmm?” Yukiko asked.

“Well, tonight he said he was going to pay for us, although I think Narukami will convince him to split the bill,” Chie said. “Ready to go rejoin our friends?” Yukiko nodded with a smile, and as they headed back to where their friends were waiting the tree behind them turned off. On their way back, they ran into Yosuke who was definitely the culprit.

“Congratulations guys!” he said, crushing them both in a hug. Chie and Yukiko both hugged him back, before Yosuke turned his phone around to show them the photos he had shot of the proposal. They looked gorgeous with the lit-up tree as the background as Chie proposed. He even got a pretty nice shot of the kiss, and both Chie and Yukiko looked a bit embarrassed about that.

“Wow, these look impressive!” Yukiko gasped, and Yosuke grinned, pretty proud of himself.

“The night isn’t over yet!” he said. “Next stop – hot pot!”

As Yosuke led the way back to the others, Yukiko tilted her head to whisper, “Looks like we really do owe Yosuke dinner,” while Chie let out a sigh.

“I guess. It’s going to be a pain convincing him though,” she muttered. She then took Yukiko’s hand, and Yukiko smiled as they rejoined their friends, who all began to shower them with congratulations while Yosuke showed off their beautiful engagement pictures. Yukiko couldn’t help but feel at ease as she walked alongside the love of her life, surrounded by her friends, and ecstatic by the success of the exhibition that night. Not only had it drawn a crowd, but they had been able to sell quite a few charms which had proven that her business venture had been sustainable. Her parents and grandmother came up to congratulate her on a job well done, and to congratulate both her and Chie on their next step in their lives.

“I’m proud of you,” her grandmother whispered as they shared a hug, and Yukiko couldn’t help but beam at the praise. This truly was a night to remember.


End file.
